Tower Arena
"Tenten! Tenten!" Lee and Guy cheered victoriously.
Tenten grinned as she'd officially joined her team in the final round!
As she joined her team, Yamcha surveyed the battlefield with a sweat drop. "Well, we'll be needing an intermission to clean this up." He looked at the remaining spectators. "Once we're ready to continue, I'll inform you all."
"I'd call that overkill if that guy hadn't managed to defend as well as he did." Turles commented.
"Yeah, I didn't quite expect fire to be that defensive." Tenten commented.
"Atsui prides himself on having a good defense and offense." Samui informed. "It's his way of trying to contend with Omoi here."
"Makes sense given what Omoi did to his opponent." Goku voiced.
As those left in the arena began to chat or stick to themselves in the cases of Team Baki and what was left of Team Vegeta, the weapons were removed. Atsui was then tenderly lifted onto a stretcher and removed from the room. Soon enough, two more names were given.
Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi
"Gah, everyone here gets to start before me!" Naruto exclaimed, growing impatient. "I thought for sure I'd have gotten an earlier match!"
"Eh, our matches will come soon at this point." Goku informed.
With Shikamaru and Kin no longer options, there were only six competitors left. That meant the odds were higher that he or Naruto would fight next. They might even end up being paired to fight each other.
"I have to fight a girl." Shikamaru complained. "I know I got to do this if I want a shot at that red headed Suna Genin, but couldn't I have been thrown a bone here?"
"I hope you aren't planning to go the way of Zaku." Vegeta stated.
"I'll do as I please." Kin bit back. "Your advice isn't needed."
"No, I suppose it isn't." Vegeta responded, as she walked away.
The two chosen Shinobi met on the arena floor.
"Begin!" Yamcha declared.
Match 9: Shikamaru vs Kin
Kin flashed him a confident smile. "Alright, let's see what you go little man."
"Are you giving me a free shot?" Shikamaru asked.
"I'm out to prove a point." Kin glanced back at Vegeta. "Go on ahead."
Shikamaru hadn't expected this, but he'd take it.
After walking a few steps forward, he made a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Shikamaru's shadow stretched towards Kin. "Is that all you know?" She drew three senbon while preparing to jump. "This will be easier than I…" She wasn't fast enough to jump away, resulting in her shadow being snagged. "What?"
"Overconfidence." Shikamaru moved his arm, and she mimicked the action with the one holding the senbon, which he had her throw away. "It's one huge pitfall, yet even with every example you've seen today, you jumped right in." He started to step back. "Now, you're finished."
"Big deal." Kin retorted, as she was forced to keep steeping back. "All this Jutsu seems to do is make me mimic your every move, and it must be one with a time limit. All I got to do it wait it out, and you'll be the one who's finished."
"Perhaps you'd have a point, if you hadn't let me walk forward." Shikamaru made her look back at the wall she was near. "Now, we'll put that head of yours to some good use."
He lend back hard forcing Kin to smash her head against the wall with enough force to render herself unconscious.
Shikamaru then flipped to his feet. "She allowed me to dictate the battle, which is just one more mistake she made this battle."
"Kin Tsuchi is unable to continue, so Shikamaru Nara is the winner of the ninth match." Yamcha declared.
Tower Arena
"Way to go Shikamaru!" Choji cheered.
Naruto snorted and crossed his arms. "Turns out even Shikamaru can fight."
"Just like that, I'm all that's left." Vegeta noted.
"Alright, let's move onto the next match." Yamcha declared, as the monitor began cycling through names.
"Hm, there's one Oto and one Suna Genin, me, Choji, Naruto, and Goku left." Kiba reasoned. "Guess I'd be fine with any of them."
The names soon stopped on who would fight next.
Kiba Inuzuka vs Naruto Uzumaki
"Alright, this is the moment I've been waiting for!" Naruto declared. "I can finally go out there and kick some butt, believe it!"
"Given what that Kabuto guy said, as well as what we've seen up to this point, Akamaru and I can't underestimate this fight." Kiba smiled confidently as he looked down at his puppy. "What do you say boy, ready to get wild?"
Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Good luck Naruto." Hinata smiled. "Do your best."
"You know it Hinata." Naruto declared.
"Just don't break the streak, loser." Sasuke retorted.
Naruto glared at him. "Sasuke…"
"I don't want you to lose because you're one of the people I want to fight most." Sasuke voiced.
"If that's what you wanted, you should have said it in the first place." Naruto grinned at him.
"Neither of you may get a shot at the other if you end up facing me first." Goku voiced.
"Worry about your coming match before that." Sasuke retorted.
"I don't know, I think Goku's the last person any of us need to worry about." Hinata stated.
Kakashi eye smiled upon seeing his team interacting like this; however, one of his students had a match. "You should get down there before you're disqualified Naruto."
"That's right!" Naruto ran for it. "Thanks, Kakashi Sensei!" He came to stand across from the Inuzuka. "Don't take it personally Kiba, but I'm about to blow you away!"
"You sure talk a lot." Kiba retorted as he placed Akamaru on the ground.
"The moment's finally here." Kakashi thought.
"Sorry Kakashi, but your boy doesn't stand a chance against Kiba." Kurenai thought, glancing his way.
"When you're ready, you may begin." Yamcha declared.
Match 10: Kiba vs Naruto
"Akamaru, stay back and let me see what he's got." After his puppy barked in acceptance, Kiba crouched and performed the hand sign. "Beast Mimicry: All Fours Jutsu."
Kiba's nails grew, his fangs became more canine, and his pupils turned into slits. The Inuzuka launched himself at Naruto, intending to bury his knee in the blond's gut. The Uzumaki saw this and got his hands up to block the attack, resulting in himself merely skidding back.
"Is that the best you got?" Naruto returned the favor by slamming his knee into the underside of Kiba's chin, knocking him off his feet. "If so, this battle will be over quicker than I thought."
"Let's see just how 'easy' this really is for you." Kiba rose to these feet. "Let's go together Akamaru." The puppy barked before both ran at him, and he withdrew some smoke bombs. "Let's see how you like this!"
He threw the smoke bombs, and they went off enshrouding the arena. Suddenly, Naruto was barraged from all sides to the point he realized he needed to get out. As he got clear of the smoke, Akamaru lept at and bit Naruto on the arm as he pushed him back into the smoke.
"That's some strategy." Goku noted.
Eventually, the smoke dissipated revealing Naruto laid out on the ground while Akamaru happily sat next to him.
"Yeah, it's all over." Kiba declared happily before Akamaru ran to him. "Good doggy." He held out his arms to receive him. "Way to…"
The Inuzuka was cut off as Akamaru lept at and spun before colliding with his face. Kiba was sent crashing to the ground by that maneuver, a shocked expression on his face. He wasn't the only one, many Leaf Shinobi were just as stunned.
"Akamaru?" Kiba questioned, confused, as he sat up. "What was that?"
"Surprise!" 'Akamaru' transformed back into Naruto. "Got you!"
"You used a Transformation Jutsu!" Kiba angrily rose back to his feet and attempted to swat Naruto with his arm. "I'll make you pay for that!"
Naruto held up his hands to catch the arm before immediately holding on and pivoting his footing to throw Kiba away. The Inuzuka caught the ground with his hand and flipped to his feet.
"Why you?" Kiba growled. "What have you done with Akamaru?"
The other Naruto, a Shadow Clone, arose from the ground holding him. "He's right here!"
"Give it up Kiba!" Naruto called out. "You're not half as tough without Akamaru by your side and you know it!"
"To balance a Transformation and Shadow Clone Jutsu at the same time, that's pretty advanced stuff." Shikamaru noted.
"That kid knows his Jutsu." Karui commented.
"Way to go Naruto!" Hinata cheered. "You're doing amazing!"
Rather than let the anger get the better of him, Kiba calmed down and reached for something inside his pocket.
"Heh, I admit you're stronger than I remember, but it doesn't matter because this fight will end up with you lying on the ground." Kiba brought two pills out of his pocket and threw one to Akamaru, who instantly swallowed it. "If I were you, I'd let Akamaru go."
Moments after swallowing the pill, Akamaru went through a radical transformation. His fangs and body grew to almost twice their original size while his fur became slightly red. Naruto's clone was so distracted by Akamaru's transformation, he forgot to have a firm grip on the dog.
Akamaru took advantage of that to kick the clone and dispel him. Kiba smirked as he swallowed a pill of his own. His fangs and claws grew. He crouched and allowed Akamaru to get on top of his back.
"Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba held a hand sign. "Beast Mimicry…" Akamaru transformed into a perfect copy of Kiba, and they spoke as one. "…Man Beast Clone!"
The two of them charged at Naruto with unbelievable speed and ferocity. This time, he couldn't properly defend, so he switched to evasion; however, that was easier said than done when the odds were two on one. Still, he was managing it until both charged him as one.
"Man Beast Ultimate Taijutsu…" One of the Kiba's spoke as both began to spin like drills. "Fang over Fang!"
Both plowed right into Naruto, sending him flying. The pair came to a stop just before the blond crashed down onto the ground coughing up a little blood.
"This time, you're the one on the ground." Kiba declared, satisfied.
"Congratulations." Naruto spouted sarcastically as he rose to his feet. "Though, it hardly matters much unless you can make me stay down." He grinned at his opponent. "I just don't see that happening!"
"You should have stayed down." Kiba grinned right back at him. "Now, it's your funeral." Both Kiba started running. "Let's go Akamaru!" They started spinning. "Fang over Fang!"
"How many times will you use that move?" Naruto questioned.
"Just once more!" Kiba yelled.
Naruto lept into the air, just managing to fully dodge the incoming attack, before landing safely on the ground. Both Kibas landed as well before skidding along the ground. They then rushed back in while throwing more smoke bombs to obscure the field.
"Fang over Fang!" Kiba yelled.
The Kibas attacked again, moving all through the smoke. Within it, Naruto did his best to avoid taking another blow, but he couldn't dodge everything they sent his way. That said, Kiba already tried this trick once before, and Naruto utilized it to his advantage.
Now, was no different. As the smoke cleared this time, there were three Kibas and no sign of Naruto. For the time being, the three Kibas all stared at one another, as they knew one of them just had to be Naruto disguising himself again.
"Pulling out the same trick again; however, this time my nose can pick you out." Kiba jumped forward and punched one of his replicas across the face, sending the impostor to the ground. "You don't smell like Akamaru! That's what you get for messing…"
The 'impostor' turned out to be none other than Akamaru, now back to his real body. The Ninken was lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious.
"No way!" Kiba exclaimed. "I smelled you; you can't be Akamaru!"
Kiba felt a rush of shame, sadness, and fury. Shame, because for the first time in his life, his sense of smell had failed him. Sadness, because of the damage he inflicted upon his loyal companion. Fury, because it was all Naruto's fault.
Thanks to the stupid blond, he punched Akamaru mercilessly and made an absolute idiot out of himself. It was worse because his sister and mom would sure learn of this from Yamcha. He turned around and addressed the real Naruto.
"Take this, you trash!" Kiba shouted as he punched the imposter.
The true impostor was sent to the ground and a cloud of smoke replaced the body. Just for a second Akamaru emerged, but this was actually the real deal. Such a sight shocked the Inuzuka immensely, and others were just as stunned.
"Naruto didn't spend all those years pranking for nothing." Goku declared, grinning.
The faux Akamaru suddenly stood and dispelled his transformation to reveal Naruto. He ran at Kiba who managed to turn just as the blond jumped, meaning he took a kick straight to the chin that knocked him off his feet.
"Naruto actually managed to fool Kiba…" Sakura was stunned.
"Get ready Kiba because I'm bringing this all home right now with an awesome new Taijutsu move!" Naruto made a hand sign as Kiba began to stand. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Five extra Naruto appeared, and the six of them encircled the Inuzuka just as he managed to fully stand. Kiba looked around in shock before one of them lunged forward and clocked him in the face. The real Naruto used this clone's back for support and jumped high in the air.
"Nar
"U"
"To!"
The rest of the clones kicked Kiba up one by one.
"Uzumaki Barrage!"
The real Naruto kicked Kiba into the ground face first. The five clones dispelled as the proctor approached Kiba and crouched to check how he was. Kiba was still conscious, but the fight was over for him.
"Naruto picked up on that much from the fight I had with Lee before the Written Exam?" Sasuke questioned, stunned.
"Kiba Inuzuka is unable to continue." Yamcha declared. "Naruto Uzumaki is the winner."
"Alright Naruto!" Goku cheered. "That's how Team 7 does it!"
"Way to go!" Hinata added. "You were spectacular!"
Team 7 weren't the only ones impressed by his showing, and Naruto was happy as he made his way back up to the second level. Naturally, Kiba was hauled away on a stretcher.
"Good work, Naruto." Kakashi eye smiled at his student as he joined them. "I knew you could pull it off."
At this point, there were only four participants that had yet to fight: Choji, Vegeta, Goku, and Temari. Whoever didn't get picked by the monitor this time would know their match would happen immediately after the next. Just like every time before, two names were chosen.
Choji Akimichi vs Goku Sarutobi
Upon seeing they would be the last two, Temari and Vegeta stared at each other. The former smirked while the latter could care less how confident she felt in her victory.
"Alright!" Goku was glad his turn was finally here. "Looks like I get to fight now."
"Goku will probably do a better job than I could fighting for Ino." Choji voiced. "Perhaps I should give up."
"You shouldn't talk like that that." Asuma put a hand on his shoulder with a smile. "I'll tell you what, fight this out, and I'll get you all the BBQ you can eat."
"You're speaking my language!" Choji lept over the side and rushed to stand where he needed to, his fire stoked. "All you can eat BBQ means bring it on!"
Both Shinobi now stood across from one another, so Yamcha got things started. "Begin when ready!"
Match 11:Choji vs Goku
"Get ready Goku because I'm giving this battle everything I got!" Choji declared.
With the promise of all you can eat BBQ, any trepidation of facing one of the four best from the academy was thrown out the window. Admittedly, now that he was here, The Akimichi figured they might as well see just who the best person was to move on and help with beating Gaara.
"Choji's all fired up." Goku hadn't overheard what Asuma promised him, but he wasn't about to question that as he entered his stance. "Alright, let's battle it out then!"
"Goku was strong in the academy, so there's no doubt in my mind he's only become that much better." Choji reasoned. "Especially with the growth Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto have shown. I'll need to go hard right from the jump."
Choji made his clan's hand sign. "Ninja Art: Expansion Jutsu!" His body expanded to represent a full-on sphere before he tucked in and started rolling. "Human Boulder!"
Goku began dodging and leading Choji to the point he impacted with a nearby wall, forming a rather large indention in it.
Choji began trying to free himself while Goku came up behind him and flashed through hand signs. "Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!"
A large slab of earth rose up as close to Choji's exposed body as possible, making any form of struggle, any amount capable of freeing himself, impossible in his current state. Goku then lept atop the wall as lightning built up within his hand. As expected, Choji reduced to his normal size.
Goku held down his hand. "Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!"
A wolf made of lightning lunged down impacting with and shocking the Akimichi greatly. As the wolf dissipated, Goku lept down and landed atop Choji's head pushing him into the ground. The Akimichi was rendered unconscious.
Yamcha came over to inspect Choji. "The winner is Goku Sarutobi."
Tower Arena
"That was a fast one." Shikamaru commented. "Choji didn't even stand a chance."
Sparing back in the academy wasn't perfect, but at least the Akimichi could have landed something on the guy.
"Still, he gave it his best." Asuma voiced. "The least we can do is buy him some beef."
Goku began to make his way back up as the Medical-Nin were called in to attend to Choji.
Guy looked at his rival. "So, both our team ended up passing the Preliminaries." Kakashi looked his way and locked eyes with him. "That just means the likelihood of our students crossing fists is that much higher."
"Way to go Goku!" Naruto exclaimed. "Team 7 advances!"
"It was a well fought battle on your end." Hinata added.
"The preliminaries are almost over." Sasuke turned to the screen as there was no anticipation, the next match had been shown right away. "After this next match, only the twelve strongest will remain."
Vegeta Hokori vs Temari
"Alright, we're down to our final competitors." Yamcha declared. "So, get down here you two."
"I've begun to see who you really are Orochimaru." Vegeta lept over the side before walking out to stand where he needed to be. "Whatever any of us viewed you as, the three of us were little more than pawns in your design. You wanted Sasuke and played us like fiddles to get him."
Vegeta was angered by the fact he never saw it until that girl, the Hyuga heiress, spilled about that mark put on his neck. As he was going through that in his mind, Temari confidently strolled down and came to stand across from him.
"Alright, the final match begins." Yamcha declared.
Match 12: Vegeta vs Temari
Vegeta merely crossed his arms and casually walked back a bit before stopping in place. He stared at Temari, inviting her to take the first attack, while she stared back.
"What are you two waiting for?" Yamcha asked. "I told you to begin."
"Hm, I guess he's waiting on me to make a move." Temari smirked. "Big mistake on his part since the first move I make will be the last he sees."
"Give it your best shot." Vegeta retorted.
"Alright then, I'll move since you seem too afraid to." Temari declared.
She withdrew her large fan before sprinting at Vegeta and leaping into the air. The Sound Genin spun one hundred and eighty degrees to the right, showing his back to her, as the overhead swing Temari used merely slammed into the ground.
Vegeta then leaned down to put his hands on the ground and lept back off them firmly planting his boots into her face. The strike was hard enough that she was forced to let go of her fan as she was knocked flat on her back.
While she got back up, Vegeta picked up her fan. "Like you could even make use of it."
"How hard could it be when your first instinct was to try bashing me over the head with it?" Vegeta took a few practice swings with it. "Look, I can use your fan just as well as you did."
Temari didn't like what he was insinuating. "Give that back!"
She drew shuriken and threw them. By this point, Vegeta saw how to open the fan. When he did as such, the fan expanded, and he defended himself with it. The thing's large size saw the shuriken harmlessly bouncing off it.
"How about that, not even a minute in my hands, and I'm already better with it than you were." Vegeta declared.
"He's making her look like a fool." Kankuro commented.
"I said give it back to me!" Temari yelled as she ran at him.
"If it means that much to you…" Vegeta collapsed and suddenly hurled the weapon at Temari, who was completely unaware. "You can have it back!" The collapsed fan slammed into her torso and pushed her into the back wall before he walked over. "Though, I'd borrow it for a moment."
Temari looked up at him with a grimace as Vegeta snatched the fan out of her lap. Just as Temari tried to end this earlier, the Sound Genin swung the fan down in an overhead strike. Unlike Temari's attempt, his connected and her head slumped forward as she was unconscious.
Vegeta set the fan back in her lap and strolled away. "She was too reckless for her own good."
"Vegeta Hokori is the winner." Yamcha declared.
Konoha
Orochimaru leaned against a red pole, staring out at Konoha.
Kabuto soon appeared and knelt before him. "The preliminaries are done, so they shall soon move onto the final rounds."
"Good, then we should go about getting the word out that there's a slight change in plans." Orochimaru chuckled as the members of 'Team Potential' flashed through his mind. "I'd like to see just who comes out on top of it all."
Tower Arena
The Medic-Nin came out to get Temari.
"Whoa, that guy was good." Goku declared.
"He utilize his opponent's weapon to beat her, effectively keeping all his other skills close to his chest." Kakashi noted.
"With this match behind us, the preliminaries have now concluded." Yamcha declared.
The twelve winners were: Sasuke, Omoi, Lee, Gaara, Turles, Hinata, Sakura, Tenten, Shikamaru, Naruto, Goku, and Vegeta. All of them were called down to the arena floor where they stood before the three proctors. Just behind them was the Hokage.
"Congratulations to all of you for advancing to the final phase." Yamcha declared. "You all earned it."
"There are nine Konoha Shinobi, and one from Suna, Oto, and Kumo respectively." Hiruzen smiled. "Now, we move onto an explanation of the final phase where each of you will put your skills on full display. Accordingly, the final battles shall take place one month from now."
"We're not going to do it here and now?" Naruto asked.
"This is to provide a suitable period of preparation." Hiruzen informed. "We must have time to prepare and distribute the summons for the final selection. Not to mention you candidates are going to need time to prepare for something this important.
You've all just battled each other, making the unknown known, so we're giving you this month to practice hard and learn some new tricks. Before I can release you all, there is one more important matter to attend to."
"What would that be?" Sasuke asked.
"In an orderly fashion, each of you will come take a slip of paper from the box Anko is holding." Hiruzen answered.
"Stay we're you are." Anko corrected. "I'll come to you."
Anko walked up to each Genin, and they proceeded to take one slip of paper, which had a number written on it.
"Alright, everyone has one." Ibiki voiced. "Going from left to right, tell me the number written on your slip of paper."
Naruto had five.
Sasuke had ten.
Goku had two.
Hinata had six.
Vegeta had eight.
Gaara had twelve.
Shikamaru had four.
Rock Lee had one.
Tenten had seven.
Turles had eleven.
Sakura had three.
Omoi had nine.
"Very well then." Ibiki noted each number down and cleared his throat upon finishing. "This is how the tournament's first rounds will be."
He turned it around to reveal the matches.
Rock Lee vs Goku Sarutobi
Sakura Haruno vs Shikamaru Nara
Naruto Uzumaki vs Hinata Hyuga
Tenten vs Vegeta Hokori
Omoi vs Sasuke Uchiha
Turles Sarutobi vs Gaara
"I have a student of Kakashi right off the bat." Lee nodded firmly. "A perfect start to be sure."
"Alright, I'm up against Lee out of the gate." Goku smiled.
"I'm against Shikamaru." Sakura noted. "That's a tough one, especially with how smart he's shown himself to be."
"Another girl…" Shikamaru groaned internally. "I didn't think attempting to avenge Ino would involve this."
"I got Hinata…" Naruto glanced her way.
"I'm against Naruto…" Hinata glanced back at him.
"This is great/I can't believe this." The two Genin thought.
"He's the person we know the least about." Tenten thought, wishing she'd gotten anyone else.
"Hopefully, she learned from my last fight and actually puts one up." Vegeta thought.
"Sasuke Uchiha…the Sharingan is a natural counter to my Swift Release." Omoi thought.
"That's the Kumo Genin with the Swift Release." Sasuke noted. "He's stronger than most others I could have gotten."
Turles looked pointedly at Gaara. "Couldn't have asked for better."
"Turles Sarutobi…" Gaara had certainly paid attention when his match came up.
"One last thing: If any of you fail to show up at the time of your match, consider yourselves out of the tournament." Yamcha warned.
"So, we're supposed to go from fight to fight until there's no one left?" Omoi asked. "Is that how we become Chunin?"
"Actually, it is quite the contrary." Hiruzen stated. "We are looking for candidates who have what it takes to obtain the next rank. Intelligence, strategic thought, and physical and mental strength, those are all qualities of a Chunin. It makes little difference if you win or lose.
We are not interested in how many fights you can win, but how well you perform in a life-or-death situation. Following that logic, all of you here might become Chunin, but there is also the possibility that none of you do.
A carefully selected group of proctors will be watching your fights, including myself, the Kazekage, and the Raikage. At the end of the tournament, we will analyze your overall performance and decide who deserves the rank.
Now, unless there are further issues to discuss, I believe you all deserve some rest. I hereby declare the preliminaries over. Good luck, and don't forget to make the most of this month. Once outside this forest and until the day of the tournament, you are all on your own."
This one contains the two fights the randomizer I used decided to keep canon; however, there are clear differences given prior changes. With Shikamaru vs Kin, Team 10 never stumbled upon Team 7 here. This team just awoke earlier due to Hinata having the expertise of a Medical-Nin. That mean Kin has no idea what Shikamaru can do, and given her growing dislike of what Vegeta is doing, she was far too overconfident with her opponent.
Here, Shikamaru is motivated by the fact that they almost lost Ino. While obviously we don't get the sense Shikamaru is her biggest fan, I'd like to think how he reacts in Shippuden to the death of Asuma is a good indicator that he does care about his team. Next, Naruto vs Kiba. As Naruto is stronger and unrestricted by the seal, Orochimaru did not have the time to place it, the blond performed better. He did not take nearly as much damage and wrapped it up with dignity.
Then, Goku vs Choji which I don't think I need to say was Goku's match to win. This leaves us with the last match, Temari vs Vegeta. We see in her canonical battle with Shikamaru that her first instinct is to bash an unwilling opponent over the head with her fan. That is a terrible idea unless you have recovery, and Vegeta made that known. Despite her being rather strategic, Temari is also a bit hot headed to the point Vegeta picked at it and swiftly defeated her.
It does not help that in part 1 all her good Jutsu seems to come from that fan of hers. With that, the 12 moving onto the final phase has been determined and given Orochimaru's interest in at least Team 7 as a whole, he's deciding they're going to go through with the entire final phase. That's right baby, we're going all the way until one stands above all. That means there will be plenty of opportunity to crown more than one Chunin.
Let me just say, I am excited with the six matches the randomizer gave me this time. Now, onto the month of training. The next two chapters will go over things that happen upon returning to Konoha, the very next day where training truly begins, and that night as well. Then, the chapters after will cover the rest of the time between that second day right up to the end of their training period.
Andrada Simon: I don't think I've made any sort of illusion that love is an easy concept for Bardock and his children to grasp. It's not even that they don't understand what love is here. You don't get Goku not knowing the concept like he does in his canonical series. It's more like they're not wired in to properly express their feelings. With Bardock and Turles, you can see how they approach it. With Goku, he's an interesting case. It'll fall in line with his twin and Bardock, though obviously in his own way. All of this is a roundabout way of saying he will end up with someone.
Dontus -not Donut- Powerus: Right now, I think it's just going to be those 10 Advanced Releases I listed being what Goku ends up having Jutsu for come Shippuden. Once Shippuden hits, then he might garner more releases...aside from the already planned Dust Release.